Comment

Amazing testimony of a woman who lived victoriously in Christ in one of the worst situations imaginable. Strengthened my faith, gave me new perspective on suffering, and opened my eyes wide to how incredibly blessed I am.

Heart breaking loss and heart filling faith not only in God but in the inherent good of the people Corrie ten Boom encountered. This is a book about how a family's faith carried them through the most violent of times. Corrie manages to tell her story by emphasizing the humanity of the people around her and not wallowing in the violence which surrounded them. Her story is told, graphic violence not needed, her faith is shown, preaching is not needed. I laughed and I cried and I wish I had found this book sooner. This would have been a better option as required reading rather than the Diary of Ann Frank.

Such a great read. Sometimes, when I feel grumpy about my circumstances, I remember the positivity the author's sister maintained in the camp. It turns my focus back on God and what He may be doing in those circumstances.

This book is such a nail-biter, I had to get a pencil after the first few chapters because I had no nails left to bite! This book is truly a must-read for every Christian, and I believe that even non-Christians will find it an inspiring and intriguing story. What I really appreciated about it was that, unlike so many other books from this period, it focuses not on the horrors of the prison camps, but on the fact that He is present, even in the darkest, cruelest places, and that His people are able to find and spread His love and peace no matter what is being done to them. If you like intense, Christian books, "The Hiding Place" is the book for you!

I found this book to be a very interesting yet intense account of repulsive events. The book is written from Corrie’s viewpoint. She uses such great illustration that I felt I was there and standing next to her – in her watchmaking shop, dining room, and barrack. It seemed like the book was slow moving at first. The author gives a lot of detail about the Ten Boom’s watchmaking shop and characters that we only see for the first few chapters of the book. I felt like a lot of this could have been edited out since the heart of the story is Corrie’s faith-driven effort to save others. Overall though, I thought this book was well written as it captivated my attention and my heart for the characters – all the way to the end. I really enjoyed learning a history lesson through the eyes of someone who lived through it. This book made me to want to be more self-less and to help others in need. It also gave me compassion for those who lived through the Holocaust.

Quotes

Today I know that such memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do.

"Love is the strongest force in the world, and when it is blocked that means pain. There are two things we can do when this happens. We can kill the love so that it stops hurting. But then, of course, part of us dies, too. Or…we can ask God to open up another route for that love to travel…Whenever we cannot love in the old human way…God can give us the perfect way."